Be Inspired..!!

Effective collaboration of an intertwined progression of face to face and virtual interactions as workers move through the day. Collaboration of iterative and mostly informal. It flows. It’s become a fundamentally social activity, an exchange where workers build on each other’s ideas & create new knowledge together. 82% of white collar workers feel they need to partner with others throughout their workday to get work done.

When planning for collaboration, several considerations call for different space configurations and new best practices to successfully engage workers in working together. 70% of workers today say they waste up to 15 minutes just looking for a space.

Here are a few strategies that you should consider for effective collaboration :

• Diversity – Give your employees control over their workspace with a range of “I” to “we” settings in open and enclosed areas. Settings should support multiple work modes including : focused, social, learning & collaborative.
• Impromptu – Impromptu collaboration is supported and encourages by a “braided” experience in formal, informal, planned, spontaneous, face-to-face and virtual settings.
• Power Tools – Data, power, and shared vertical elements such as screens, whiteboards, etc to enable the exchange of knowledge.
• Team Size – Collaboration happens most and best in spaces that easily support : 4 to 8 people (physically & virtually) where everyone has equal access to digital and analog information displays and where teams can see each other eye-to-eye.
• Open Flow – Open settings make people accessible to each other. People learn through “eavesdropping” and sharing knowledge informally during the flow of the day.
• Noms – Food is an attractor and brings people together encouraging a social atmosphere to connect with others. Examples include finger foods, potluck style, or catering.
• Proximity – Proximity has psychological effect on space usage. Spaces more than 50 feet away from any designated workspace will typically not get used.
• Choice – Encourage workers to switch where they sit on a regular basis to build stronger networks between people, projects, and ideas.

Workers want workplaces that support the social nature of work today. Their preference for informal access versus scheduled meetings mean that they come to the office to leverage social networks & participates in collaboration.